19-EEID US-UK Anticipating dynamic responses to disease control interventions in reservoirs: the science of vampire bat rabies management
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: College of Medical, Veterinary, Life Sci
Abstract
Wild animals host a wide variety of pathogens that can spread between host species. Such diseases, including Ebola and COVID-19, significantly affect human health, agriculture and wildlife conservation. Historically, disease mitigation methods (e.g. vaccination, therapeutics) have focused on humans or livestock rather than the wild animals that perpetuate the pathogens in nature. For example, we treat humans after they become ill from a disease that originated in other species, rather than limiting the spread of the disease within its animal source. Controlling diseases within wildlife could be more effective in controlling disease but is currently limited by three factors. First, many diseases are maintained in cycles that spread across landscapes, but wildlife are notoriously difficult to observe at these large spatial scales, making responses to interventions unpredictable. Second, tools like vaccines have been difficult to administer to sufficient numbers of individuals to actually reduce disease transmission in the wild. Third, interventions are usually bounded by societal constraints, whether financial (e.g., limited funds to invest) or sociological (e.g., conflicting desires among multiple stakeholders). This project uses a highly tractable disease that has major health and agricultural impacts as a model system to determine how each limiting factor for disease control in wildlife can be overcome.
The project will conduct field and laboratory research to test specific hypotheses about vampire bat-transmitted rabies, a viral infection that has major human health and agricultural impacts across Latin America. The study will take advantage of two areas where novel tools and strategies enable unprecedented insights into disease spread and management: the miniaturization of animal-borne tracking systems and the development of vaccines that can spread among wildlife in the wild. Field experiments using animal-borne GPS tags, along with landscape-scale data on bat presence from questionnaires and historical rabies outbreaks in cattle, will be used to generate a spatially-explicit dynamic model of bat abundance and dispersal. Studies on captive and wild vampire bats will resolve key uncertainties related to the implementation of self-spreading therapies that target bats. Finally, stochastic epidemiological models will use parameters estimated from fieldwork and captive studies and the bat population dynamic model to identify optimal intervention strategies for localized control and regional elimination of vampire bat rabies that preserve diverse stakeholder requirements (e.g. wildlife conservation goals as well as improved human and livestock health).
Broader impacts: This research constitutes a step towards preventative management of an important bat virus while strengthening international research capacity. In doing so, it will create generalizable quantitative frameworks that will be useful to inform how potentially revolutionary technologies could be applied to other wildlife diseases.
The project will conduct field and laboratory research to test specific hypotheses about vampire bat-transmitted rabies, a viral infection that has major human health and agricultural impacts across Latin America. The study will take advantage of two areas where novel tools and strategies enable unprecedented insights into disease spread and management: the miniaturization of animal-borne tracking systems and the development of vaccines that can spread among wildlife in the wild. Field experiments using animal-borne GPS tags, along with landscape-scale data on bat presence from questionnaires and historical rabies outbreaks in cattle, will be used to generate a spatially-explicit dynamic model of bat abundance and dispersal. Studies on captive and wild vampire bats will resolve key uncertainties related to the implementation of self-spreading therapies that target bats. Finally, stochastic epidemiological models will use parameters estimated from fieldwork and captive studies and the bat population dynamic model to identify optimal intervention strategies for localized control and regional elimination of vampire bat rabies that preserve diverse stakeholder requirements (e.g. wildlife conservation goals as well as improved human and livestock health).
Broader impacts: This research constitutes a step towards preventative management of an important bat virus while strengthening international research capacity. In doing so, it will create generalizable quantitative frameworks that will be useful to inform how potentially revolutionary technologies could be applied to other wildlife diseases.
Technical Summary
The major goal of this research is to assess ecological mechanisms underlying the success or failure of current and proposed disease control interventions in wildlife reservoirs. We focus on vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) transmitted rabies, a highly tractable model that also carries substantial applied importance for human and livestock health in Latin America. As with many wildlife zoonoses, the primary limits to evidence-based management of vampire bat rabies are both epidemiological and sociological. We need better understanding of how rabies spreads across heterogeneous landscapes and how interventions can be designed to take advantage of these dynamics. Yet, theoretically optimal solutions must be robust to real world constraints such as limited funding and conflicting needs among stakeholders. In our study, field experiments using animal-borne GPS tags, along with landscape-scale data on bat presence from questionnaires and historical rabies outbreaks in cattle will allow us to generate a spatially explicit dynamic model of bat abundance and dispersal. Studies on captive and wild vampire bats will resolve key uncertainties related to the implementation of self-spreading therapies that target bats. Stochastic epidemiological models will use parameters estimated from fieldwork and captive studies and the bat population dynamic model to identify optimal intervention strategies for localized control and regional elimination that accommodate diverse stakeholder requirements. This study will constitute a major advance towards evidence-based management of an economically damaging zoonosis affecting livestock-reliant countries across Latin America. More broadly, it will forge new theoretical ground to illustrate how the next generation of self-disseminating technologies for wildlife disease control and the next generation of technologies in animal spatial ecology can be quantitatively integrated to improve human and animal health.
Publications

Mollentze N
(2023)
Predicting zoonotic potential of viruses: where are we?
in Current opinion in virology

Ribeiro R
(2023)
Incorporating environmental heterogeneity and observation effort to predict host distribution and viral spillover from a bat reservoir.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences


Shepherd JG
(2023)
Emerging Rhabdoviruses and Human Infection.
in Biology
Description | Using sophisticated statistical models, we developed an approach to predict the presence of reclusive animals while accounting for observation biases which tend to plague animal observation datatasets. Applying this model to a dataset on vampire bats from Peru revealed that 76% of vampire bat roosts in southern Peru remain undiscovered and identified hotspots of undetected roosts in currently rabies-free areas, implying high risk for viral incursion. Incorporating the locations of undetected roosts improved spatial predictions of rabies spillover to livestock, revealed areas with disproportionate underreporting to surveillance systems and suggested a higher rabies burden than previously estimated. Our approach is a robust method to infer the distribution of a mostly unobserved bat reservoir which can inform strategies to prevent the re-emergence of an important zoonosis. Our grant also requires conducting field experiments using animal-borne movement tracking (GPS and RFID technologies) to characterize seasonal and sex-related variation in vampire bat short-range foraging and long-range dispersal, and test how culling alters bat movement ecology. Between 18th April and 10th May 2022, we carried out a pilot of the deployment of GPS tags in vampire bats. The pilot study was carried out at an abandoned house where a colony of vampire bats was roosting in district of Sanayca, Apurimac, Peru. We used tags with 3g, and 3cm body length and 5cm of antenna, which were developed specifically for this project by Pathtrack (Pathtrack Ltd, UK). Fifteen tags were deployed for this pilot. Vampire bats were captured using a mist net placed inside the abandoned house. After the 6 days of the experiment, we had an 80% data recovery rate, meaning that out of 15 bats, we recovered complete data for 12 bats. The findings of this pilot confirmed the application of glue and suturing with absorbable thread to attach the tags, and the position of the receiver some meters away from the roost and in a high point, to successfully download the data from the tags. The absorbable suturing seems to provide the ideal conditions to attach the tags for the study period, without causing any long-term impediment. Results also suggest that after disturbance, most bats return to the roost at some point (which is explained by the high data recovery rate and low bat recapture rate). We are currently analyzing the data from this pilot and studies in 2 other locations to describe the foraging behaviors of vampire bats in our study area. We have also deployed automatic RFID tag readers at 3 bat roosts and will evaluate data records in April. |
Exploitation Route | Our statistical modelling approach will be useful for a variety of wildlife systems. The code is already public and a manuscript is in review. Our methods for GPS tracking bats will also be useful for other bat researchers. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment |
Description | 1) Through winning the Aspire competition (see public outreach section) the findings will be the focus of an exhibit to be installed in the Glasgow Science Centre. This will engage the public with the research process involved in studying bat viruses in the wild while communicating results of the research project, particularly around bat movement ecology and intervention efficacy. 2) Results from this research have been presented on several instances to the Ministry of Agriculture of Peru, who has indicated its value for informing the allocation of their resources and activities for rabies prevention and control. |
First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
Sector | Environment,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural Policy & public services |
Description | Advancing genetic tools to understand individual heterogeneity in wildlife-virus interactions |
Amount | £79,006 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/X011747/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2022 |
End | 10/2023 |
Description | Building foundations for monitoring viruses at the interface of wildlife and indigenous communities in Peru |
Amount | £9,501 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 201698-02 |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2022 |
End | 07/2023 |
Description | MRC Public Engagement Seed Fund |
Amount | £8,750 (GBP) |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2022 |
End | 12/2023 |
Title | Practical guide to live sampling of wildlife and livestock |
Description | A practical guide to live sampling of livestock and wildlife for infectious disease surveillance for use by researchers. |
Type Of Material | Biological samples |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | None recorded yet |
URL | https://www.protocols.io/view/practical-guide-to-live-sampling-of-livestock-and-rm7vzxro8gx1/v2 |
Title | Code and data for manuscript: Incorporating environmental heterogeneity and observation effort to predict host distribution and viral spillover from a bat reservoir. |
Description | This is the source code and data required to reproduce data analysis and figures from the manuscript, "Incorporating environmental heterogeneity and observation effort to predict host distribution and viral spillover from a bat reservoir". |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Research paper under review |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/7704510 |
Title | Longitudinal monitoring of wild vampire bats |
Description | Samples from wild vampire bats collected annually (or more frequently) from 2007 to present, including blood, saliva, feces, DNA. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2012 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This database continues to add value for my research and that of collaborators. The samples collected contributed to three new grants awarded (HSFP, Leverhulme, Wellcome ISSF). |
Description | Collaboration Agreement - University of Wisconsin Madison |
Organisation | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaborative planning of field research activities, contributions of expertise, assistance in authorizations. |
Collaborator Contribution | Collaborative planning of research activiites, technical guidance on remote data collection systems, provisioning of vaccines for experiments. |
Impact | None to date. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Collaboration agreement - UNTRM |
Organisation | National University Toribio Rodriguez de Mendoza of Amazonas |
Country | Peru |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Funding acquisition and delivery of an international symposium and workshop on infectious diseases in the region. |
Collaborator Contribution | Logistical coordination of workshop, infrastructure for research projects. |
Impact | Successful completion of symposium and workshop in Amazonas Peru in 2023. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Amazonas zoonosis symposium - Rita Ribeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation as part of an international symposium on zoonoses in the Amazon. This talk presented work on the spatial distirbution of vampire bats and rabies to an academic and health practitioner audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://citbm.unmsm.edu.pe/construyendo-bases-para-el-monitoreo-de-virus-en-la-interfase-entre-animal... |
Description | Amazonas zoonosis workshop and symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A symposium and workshop held in Chachapoyas, Amazonas (Peru), "Construyendo las bases para el monitoreo de virus en la interfase entre animales silvestres y comunidades indígenas de Amazonas". This event joined international researchers and public health institutions from Peru to discuss health issues faced by the indigenous communities of the Condorcanqui area of Amazonas, and strategies to control and prevent these issues. This event has the potential to create future collaborations between the University of Glasgow and animal and human health authorities from Peru, wich will bring added benefits for both parts, ultimately improving the health of neglected indigenous communities. A meeting report is being drafted for publication. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | http://citbm.unmsm.edu.pe/construyendo-bases-para-el-monitoreo-de-virus-en-la-interfase-entre-animal... |
Description | BES - Animal Movement Ecology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Scientific conference on animal movement ecology held in St Andrews, UK. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/event/besmove2023-animal-and-human-movements-and-their-inte... |
Description | BatsGoViral Team with Glasgow Science Centre's Amplify Competition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | BatsGoViral Team won Glasgow Science Centre's Amplify competition and will have their MVLS Research Exhibit built and displayed in GSC. They proposed an idea for a research exhibit and were shortlisted to work with GSC designers to design the potential exhibit. Megan Griffiths presented their proposal during the final and the judges chose their exhibit to be built and displayed. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://twitter.com/CVRinfo/status/1633790755528482816 |
Description | Blog Post - Megan Griffiths |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Blog titled 'CONFERENCE PRESENTATION PRIZES: WHAT THE JUDGES WANT TO SEE' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://naturallyspeaking.blog/2024/02/05/conference-presentation-prizes-what-the-judges-want-to-see... |
Description | Ciclo de conferencias por el Día Mundial de Lucha Contra la Rabia 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Annual lecture on the status of rabies in Peru and other countries in the americas |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.cayetano.edu.pe/cayetano/es/noticias/1074-ciclo-de-conferencias-por-el-dia-mundial-de-lu... |
Description | Conference - Nardus Mollentze |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Attended the Microbiology Society Annual Conference at Birmingham, UK and gave a talk on Identifying and prioritising zoonotic viruses using genomic signatures |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Conferencia Virtual por el Dia Mundial Contra la Rabia 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Virtual event which brought together international experts in the biology and management of rabies |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Engagement Event by Hollie French |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Hosted activites based around vampire bats, and how they catch and sample them in the field to test for rabies. Part of GSC's Halloween event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/whats-on/halloween-family-party |
Description | Engagement Event by Megan Griffiths |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Hosted activites based around vampire bats, and how they catch and sample them in the field to test for rabies. Part of GSC's Halloween event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/whats-on/halloween-family-party |
Description | Hollie French on Global Science Show |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Hollie chatted with Sam Langford about her work around Vampire Bats in Costa Rica, what her typical day might look like and why she started working in disease surveillance. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://twitter.com/GlobalSciShow/status/1588222061839020033 |
Description | International Conference of Statistics and Ecology - Rita Ribeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at research conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.isec2022.org/ |
Description | Introducing Megan Griffiths (CVR Shorts Publications video): Transmissible vaccines for vampire bat rabies |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | CVR Shorts video discussing Megans PhD project about transmissible vaccines. Part of video series introducing the BatsGoViral project team. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84MK-QY1HEQ |
Description | National Geographic bat video |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Video produced by National Geographic on the benefits of bats and their role in emerging viruses. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6e_qh3YRPs |
Description | Perspectives on Studying Emerging Infectious Diseases and Capacity Building in Amazonas Symposium - Laura Bergner |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Perspectives on Studying Emerging Infectious Diseases and Capacity Building in Amazonas Symposium (Simposio Perspectivas de la investigación de enfermedades zoonóticas emergentes y desarrollo de capacidades en Amazonas) (Chachapoyas, Peru). May 2023. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Pint of Science talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Hollie French gave a talk entitled 'A virus at the door, 'track and trace' for vampires' at the Pint of Science event in Glasgow |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Podcast Feature - Ep. 59: "Infectious Disease Ecology and Evolution" Featuring Dr. Daniel Streicker |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Chatted to Dr. Jason Goldsmith and Dr. Brenda Raud about vampire bats as a reservoir for #rabies and approaches to vaccination that could prevent transmission. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.immunologypodcast.com/ep-59-infectious-disease-ecology-and-evolution-featuring-dr-daniel... |
Description | Royal Society profile video |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | One of 3 videos covering the work of Royal Society grantees on COVID-19. The video discussed the ongoing research done under the EEID grant in the context of COVID19. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJQtQ-DXLfY |
Description | Scottish Bat Workers Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | One day conference focused on issues related to bat research, conservation and legislation in Scotland. I was one of several invited speakers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Seminar Attended - Nardus Mollentze |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Attended the Barts Health NHS Trust "Virology and the Future" seminar series in London, and gave a virtual talk on Predicting virus host range using genome sequences |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Seminar Attended - Nardus Mollentze |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Attended the European Virus Bioinformatics Center Viruses In Silico lecture series in Jena, Germany (virtual) and gave a talk on Identifying and prioritising poorly-characterised viruses with zoonotic potentia |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Symposium Attended - Nardus Mollentze |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | attended the Simposio "Perspectivas de la investigación de enfermedades zoonóticas emergentes y desarrollo de capacidades en Amazonas" at Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Chachapoyas, Perú and gave a talk on Prediciendo la expansión espacial del riesgo de transmisión interespecífica de la rabia |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Ted Radio Hour Instagram Reel |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Daniel Streicker worked with TED Radio Hour at NPR to create a short Instagram video on his research |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpU6P26g892/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link |
Description | Thomas More International Week |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | A week long event designed to introduce undergraduate students to the diversity of careers in live sciences. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Trainging event by Rita Ribeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Undergraduate students, biologists and verterinarians from Peru were trained in capture and sampling of bats, pariticularly using GPS and RFID technologies. Training in financial management of field work was also provided. Young researchers received significant training and knowledge regarding the management of disease in wildlife reservoirs and gained invaluable leadership skills. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Transmissible vaccine workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The workshop was held March 27 through March 31, 2023, in Stevenson Washington. Funding for the workshop was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DEB 2216790). A core group of fourteen participants were invited by the organizers (Scott L. Nuismer and Daniel G. Streicker) and were selected to include diverse expertise, career stages, and published views on the merits of transmissible vaccines. After cementing the core participants, the workshop was advertised publicly through social media (e.g., Twitter), list-serves (e.g., evoldir, MIDAS), the workshop website (https://transmissiblevaccines.org/workshop-dev-vaccines/), and through the University of Idaho and University of Glasgow distribution networks. Seven additional participants were selected from the resulting applicant pool by the organizers based on a CV and one page description of research experience and interest in transmissible vaccines. All told, workshop participants represented five countries and were drawn from academia, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry. A Policy Forum article represents the consensus viewpoint achieved during structured discussions that took place over the workshop and includes all workshop participants as authors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://transmissiblevaccines.org/workshop-dev-vaccines/ |
Description | United States Department of Agriculture Blue Ribbon Panel on Vampire Bat Surveillance/Rabies Management Strategies |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This expert panel convened by the US National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) and National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) summarized the state of knowledge around vampire bat rabies to guide the development of a national policy on managing the arrival of vampire bats to the United States of America. Produced a report of recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel Final Report: Surveillance, Management and Research of Vampire Bats and Vampire Bat Rabies in the US State of North American Bats, Expert Elicitation Status Assessment (pp.1-41). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | United States Geological Survey National Rapid Risk Assessment for Risk of SARS- CoV-2 to North American Bats |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This risk assessment used expert surveys and focus groups to evaluate the risk posed by SARS-CoV-2 to North American bats to shape national policies on bat research and management. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70219440 |
Description | University of Bielefeld |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Departmental seminar for 70 individuals along with a 20 minute discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | University of Lisbon - Rita Ribeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited webinar "epidemiology sessions". Explained career path to undergraduate students in Portugal. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | University of Tuebingen |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Departmental seminar to approximately 90 participants from PhD students to professors and a separate question and answer/professional development session for PhD students |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Verena Forum on Zoonotic Risk Technology - Nardus Mollentze |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Gave a talk at the Verena Forum on Zoonotic Risk Technology on Identifying and prioritizing potential human-infecting viruses from their genome sequences. Workshop resulted in a publication |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0358 |
Description | Video series introducing the BatsGoViral team and their research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Haris explains his PhD project which aims to understand how we can use harmless viruses as self-spreading vaccines against rabies in vampire bat populations |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://youtu.be/Qn-ed66xgkI |
Description | Video series introducing the BatsGoViral team and their research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Nardus Mollentze explains his work which aims to understand how viruses spread between different host species, and what determines the species they can infect. Haris explains his PhD project which aims to understand how we can use harmless viruses as self-spreading vaccines against #rabies in vampire bat populations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSIWXqVBfdlDGukbwQVPtypyCN1j2MdrM |
Description | Workshop Attendance - Nardus Mollentze |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Attended the workshop at United States Agency for International Development Virtual Exchange on Zoonosis and Land Use Change and gave a talk on Hosts of zoonotic viruses |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | XXXII Rabies in the Americas Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | International conference on rabies knowledge and management in the Americas. I gave a keynote presentation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | http://rita2021.com.br/index_en.html |